Tried-and-true termite control advice

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Follow theses 10 tips to help take your termite control work to the next level.

1. Ask for referrals, and reward customers who provide them.
—Tony DeJesus, Vice President, Big Blue Bug Solutions, Providence, R.I.

2. Explain to customers how much damage termites can do in one year.
—Neal Lalman, America’s Best Pest Control, Marble Falls, Texas

3. Let your general pest control customers know you also offer termite treatments. Send with every invoice a flier about your termite management services.
—Don Wood, Co-owner, Bestway Pest Management, Knoxville, Tenn.

4. Make sure all of your people — from office staff to technician, to management, to sales staff — know where you stand on doing termite business the right way. What your customers say about you gets around.
—Randal Dawson, Director of Operations, DC Scientific Pest Control, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

5. Market to Realtors — they can be your best salespeople.
—Chris Baumbach, Pinnacle Pest Defense, New Braunfels, Texas

6. Explain to customers the value of your termite control services, and the advantages of keeping the warranty service in place.
—Jeff Annis, Founder, Advanced Services, Augusta, Ga.

7. Always show the value of your services. Don’t be afraid to ask for the business.
—Kevin Citarella, President, Citarella Termite & Pest Management, Spring Hill, Fla.

8. Have all of your general pest control technicians conduct termite inspections as they perform their regular services.
—Andrea Mooberry, Owner, American Pest Control, Hanna City, Ill.

9. Take pictures of issues in crawlspaces and around structures, and integrate them into your sales presentations. Draw graphs to use as sales tools.
—Philip Smith, President, Compass Pest Management, Baldwin, Ga.

10. Price for profit, not just to land the job.
—Robert Gordon, President, Gordon Termite Control, Bellflower, Calif.